Injury updates remain positive
As a season wears on towards the end, bangs and bruises accumulate, leading to various injuries that need proper management. That is essentially where the Panthers currently stand with Tetairoa McMillan, Ikem Ekwonu, and Tershawn Wharton.
McMillan did not practice on Wednesday due to a non-injury-related rest day. The Panthers didn’t hold a practice on Christmas Day, but if they had, coaches estimate the rookie would have been a full participant. The Friday injury report won’t be released until closer to 4 p.m., but the receiver was on the field today, and Canales feels confident in his availability.
“TMac’s good to go,” Canales told reporters on Friday. “He had a great practice today, as you can understand, this late in the season, things come up and we work through those things and he’s been a real pro about it, getting his body ready and his mind right, being in tune when he’s not out there full time.
“But today he had a great full practice, and he looked great.”
Ekwonu was back at practice this week after a knee injury suffered in Week 14 kept him sidelined last Sunday. Canales told reporters Ekwonu worked to be ready for the Bucs game in Week 15, but couldn’t quite get there. He should be available on Sunday.
“He looked great, worked through it, through the weekend,” Canales said. “(VP of player health and performance) Denny (Kellington) did a great job with his crew down there getting Ickey ready.
“And Ickey applied himself and tried—he took it all the way to game day, last week, trying to get out there for his teammates and was able to get back on the field this week and practice for us.”
Wharton will be day-to-day with a hamstring he’s been nursing since Saturday, ahead of the Saints game in Week 15. His status will take into account both this week and next week.
“We were able to do a little bit more, a little more stuff with him,” Canales shared. “He looked better each day, and right now we’re going to have to reevaluate him all the way through the weekend to see if we can get him back out there, knowing how important this game is, also knowing how important the next one is.
“But for Turk, just making sure that he can do his job well and so he’s trending in the right direction, but it’s day to day.”
